Ratel and honeyguide symbiotic relationship examples

Can the honeyguide show us a new way to connect with nature? | Opinion | The Guardian

These associations appear to be a form of commensalism where other The relationship involving the badger and honey guide is often cited as example of. My favorite example of this symbiotic relationship is the cooperation found Both the honeyguide and the ratel prefer honey, combs, bees and. The honey badger (or ratel, shown above) is one such creature with which the bird works in collaboration, but honeyguides have also been.

It has a tough and thick fur.

Can the honeyguide show us a new way to connect with nature?

It is also very loose so that he can turn around and bite even if his opponent catches him by his collar. Look how the mighty lion is also a little bit hesitant to attack this fearless badger, ready for fight.

Let us now introduce ourselves to his little friend. This tiny bird called the Honey Guide, is a great friend of the brave Honey Badger.

Unlikely Animal Friends!

What is common between them? Their love for honey makes them friends.

Let us see how. Do you know why is the Honey Guide called so?

It has a special ability to search and find out beehives. The Honey Guide loves to eat the wax with which the bees make their hive but she is too small to enter beehives. Also, she is afraid of the bee stings. This is where she needs help.

biosystems: The Honey Guide and Ratel

The brave badger also loves to eat honey but cannot search for the hives. The Honey Guide bird knows this. When she finds a badger on the ground, she comes close to it and produces chirping sounds. It fans its tail excitedly showing her white feathers. The Honey Badger notices her and begins to follow her with a grunting and growling sound.

Think of the rats that locate landmines in exchange for treats. That hawk they get out at Wimbledon every year. There is only one hand on the tiller, steering it toward human profit — a human one. We own the deal, nearly always, when we work with other animals. And they become, bit-by-bit, spoilt as a result. Not that the honeyguide is a saint, of course.

It does its fair share of cheating: The honeyguide has negotiated what is possibly the first ever trade deal between a wild animal and a human There is one other animal with whom we might have developed a mutualistic relationship: Not all dolphins, just a tiny sub-population of bottlenose dolphins in Laguna, Brazil.

The scientists assume they benefit from the overflow of fish from the nets, but no one can be quite sure. Even still, the honeyguide is more impressive.

It is a mutualist that retains a certain aloofness. It remains slightly mysterious and slightly wild. It is interesting to me that so few animals have such relationships with us like this one. It speaks volumes, I think, of the human species. And so I salute the honeyguide.

This extraordinary bird has somehow negotiated what is possibly the first ever trade deal between a wild animal and a human. It is a beacon of trusting union in a world of suspicion.

Honey Guide and the Ratel – SmallScience

Perhaps the only wild friends we have. I hope one day we might have more. Who knows, perhaps the honeyguide can guide us in more ways than just one.